SellCell: Survey shows only 20% of users choose to sell their old iPhones

Apple has released a new iPhone every year since 2007, and the resale price of an old iPhone is about a quarter of that of a new iPhone on average, so if all 85 million outdated iPhones were sold, it would still make a profit of $50 billion. But surveys show that most users are reluctant to sell their old iPhones.

Recently, foreign media released a survey report, which showed that more than 50% of American users admitted that they have two or more idle mobile phones at home. According to the data of the second-hand resale website SellCell.com, the total value of these mobile phones is about 34 billion US dollars. And SellCell.com is also preparing to develop this market. Since 2007, Apple has released a new iPhone every year, and the resale price of old iPhones is about one-quarter of the new iPhone on average, so if all the outdated 85 million iPhones are sold, it can still make a profit of 50 billion US dollars. But the survey shows that most users are unwilling to sell their old iPhones.

Industry analyst Jeff Kagan mentioned that if more iPhones flood into the market, the resale price of old phones will inevitably decrease, and consumers will also be less willing to buy new phones. Only when the price of old iPhones is maintained at a high level can the market demand be stabilized. "A new iPhone costs about $650. Users usually only need to pay $199 to the operator and sign a two-year contract to own a contract phone, and their old iPhone can be sold on the resale website for $200, so upgrading to a new phone becomes a free process." Jeff Kagan further said. The survey shows that apart from many old phones that are damaged and can no longer be repaired, about one-fifth of the respondents said that they just left their phones idle and did not sell them because they were "too lazy." Similarly, about one-fifth of the respondents were worried about their private data being leaked. Most of the remaining respondents did not realize that selling their old phones could bring considerable benefits. Colin White, director of SellCell, said: "In the end, only 20% of users chose to sell their old phones."

Analyst Brian Colello said that if T-Mobile continues to follow its contract plan and allows users to sign high-end contract phones with low monthly rent, the number of old iPhones in the United States will continue to increase. However, as the proportion of the smartphone market increases and the number of high-end smartphones continues to increase, replacing the new iPhone will no longer be attractive to users. "Those who own iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 may no longer be interested in new iPhones in 2013, and low-priced old iPhones may have a better market." Brian Colello said.